By Rev. LeRoy E. Zemke
Pastor, Temple of the Living God

The rule of life is to be found within yourself.

Ask yourself constantly, “What is the right thing to do?” Beware of ever doing that which you are likely, sooner or later, to repent of having done.

It is better to live in peace than in bitterness and strife.

It is better to believe in your neighbors than to fear and distrust them.

The superior man does not wrangle. He is firm but not quarrelsome.

He is sociable but not clannish.

The superior man sets a good example to his neighbors. He is considerate of their feelings and their property.

Consideration for others is the basis of a good life, a good society.

Feel kindly toward everyone. Be friendly and pleasant among yourselves. Be generous and fair.

What you do not wish done to yourself, do not do unto others.
From the Analects of Confucious

Truth: being or reflecting the essential or genuine character of something; those qualities associated with the core of our innermost self.

The essential teachings, wise sayings, and components of what might be called eternal truths have been taught and held valuable for many, many centuries. Ethicists, philosophers, inspired teachers and sages have written and spoken of such truths across the milleniums in literature, sacred writings, sacred stories, fables, myths, poetry, sacred dance and music.

Religions offer us codified teachings which are presented as truths. And if the teachings are given by a prophet, avatar, Buddha, Christ, or other awakened being, we are encouraged to accept them as viable or somehow core principles, often Divinely uttered revelations that give us a Larger Authority affirming their value or special significance in our life.

In the heart of our lives, we each seek to find the philosophy or teachings that offer us a complete palate of colors, a mix of the “right” blends and shades of ideas that we feel and/or believe and that we can live by.

As each human embraces his/her incarnation, meaning to become consciously involved in what it means to be fully human, the learning which ensues through our life experiences leads us to what might be called truths. These are very basic discoveries we make about ourselves, our nature and our lives.

Regardless of how truths (eternal or otherwise) are defined, one significant idea around that concept is this. We tend to live according to what we believe to be true.

If we believe that we can live in harmony and peace, rather than strife, for us, that becomes a reality. Jesus is reported as saying ...”it is done as you believe.”

Let me briefly illustrate this idea. Peace is an internal state of our beingness, or what we call our inner nature. Once we accept that peace, or the condition we call peace is really possible, we begin, albeit slowly, to act, speak and live in such a way as to create a peaceful state in our lives.

When we encounter strife in the outer environment such as our family, or friends, our spouse or any person “out there,” if we believe peace is possible, then we will choose to act in a peaceful manner. It emerges from our belief from the inside of us and flows into our life.

When another person, spouse, sibling, friend or even a foe acts in a way that is argumentative, angry, hurtful, critical, spiteful, attempts to attack us, for any reason, and we are centered in a peaceful, internal state, their attack fades and falls away. It meets no resistance in us. Nothing in us connects to the energy of annoyance, hurt, pain, etc.

It’s my perception (in this example) that we actually believe that peace is available to us. If we believe it’s available and that it can be accessed, then it’s likely to occur. Our interior state is really always open to us, beyond our personal ego wants or issues. This falls into the realm of what I call eternal truths. We discover that we have an entire world of spiritual depth and dimension beyond our imagination.

Another quality, often called a universal or perhaps eternal truth is reflected in the word we use called love.

And while there are almost unlimited ways to define this word, the basic meaning I reference is a sense of a powerful deep, inner connection to the innermost dimension of our nature that we each have available within ourselves. When we recognize this connectedness in others we feel kindly, friendly, maybe even compassionate toward another. We say, “I love this person.” What we may personally mean can vary, quite markedly so.

We could also say, “I respect who you are,” or we could express a feeling of gratitude for what a certain person stands for and how they express this respectful quality in the world. It suggests that we also hold something in us of the quality we see expressed out in the world. If we see/feel love (connectedness) to be present in others, it is already present in us. How we express it, however, is dependant upon our cultural background, our social mileau, our religious persuasions or other psychological dimensions of our own being.

The quality we identify as love appears to be eternally present, so I am suggesting it’s an eternal truth or core principle. Jesus claimed love as the fulfilling of the law.

The work of identifying those principles which are deep truths for us can be a most revealing challenge, yet enormously fulfilling and rewarding.

At the beginning of this article, I have listed 10 aphorisms or maxims from the collected discourses of Confucious. Choose 1, 2, or 3 that may significantly speak or resonate to you as you read through them whenever you are relaxed.

I suggest then that you write those you select out (on computer, or in your own long hand.) Spend some significant quality reflective time with them. How does what you selected show up for you? List the avenues or areas of your life that appear to support and/or deny the implications. After some weeks of practicing due diligence (consistent and thorough effort) move on to other maxims you may have chosen.

The exercise will reveal the powerful and profound depth of how we each hold or embrace the specific maxim we may have chosen. The more one works, explores, considers and reflects upon the maxim(s) chosen, the height, width and depth of our own relationship to the universe in which we live unfolds. Resultingly, we actually then move from merely an intellectual consideration to the actual way the principle(s) show up or appear in our lives.

The inalterable task for each of us is to recognize that the Spirit of Life is already present in the principles we choose. Our work is to become conscious of them to put our discovery into action, (faith without works is dead.)

“Since everyone’s ultimate desire is to be happy and to have the joy of making others happy, and since God is the source of all happiness, there is no way you can avoid Him. And why should you? All else will betray you with lies and false promises, for naught but God can give you true and lasting joy.

In the beginning of life, in the middle of life, at the end of life, seek the happiness of God, because that alone will free you forever from all sorrows. If you think money will give you happiness, you are wasting your time, it will never do so. If you are seeking human love, you will find in God a love that is a multimillion times greater. To find God is to receive everything the heart craves. And whatever you think you need you will find fulfilled in God. To be spiritual is to open doors to health, happiness, and success. Therefore a study of the scientific conduct of life is really important. To learn how to banish suffering and attain the joy that cannot be taken away is something practical. If I had not had this study from my childhood, I would have made a horrible failure of my life.”
Taken from The Divine Romance by Paramahansa Yogananda